Mighty Sonic
by BearfootTruck
Summary: Sonic is at odds with his friends over a popular TV show. However, Sonic's beliefs are put to the test when their stars go missing.
1. Fan Dumb

**DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction. Any similarities to any TV shows, on-air or off-air, is purely intentional and meant for parody only. Remember, don't try anything you are about to read at home. Sonic & his friends have years of experience that keeps them safe.**

* * *

Sonic the Hedgehog came running into Knothole Village, ending one of his daily runs. The blue hedgehog pressed a button on his watch and looked at the display.

"All right, a new record!" exclaimed Sonic. "Let's see what's on the tube today!"

So, Sonic went to his hut, sat down on his couch and turned on the TV. Now see, the country of Mobius had been taken over by a mad scientist named Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik, and as such, there were plenty of restrictions on the media. Nevertheless, Dr. Robotnik did allow some freedom for the media, just to keep his subjects from rebelling (not that most of them would do so). Besides, Sonic & his band of Freedom Fighters had ways of circumventing restrictions, too.

Anyways, when Sonic fired up the TV, he was just in time for _The Amazing Adventures of Edgar Eagle_, a show based off a popular comic book character. The opening narration went as such:

"Quicker than a cheetah,

More loyal than a beagle,

Stronger than a grizzly bear,

He's Edgarrrrrrrrr Eagllllllleeeeeeeee!"

And of course, no superhero show of this caliber was complete without a heroic orchestral theme song.

"Aw yeah!" exclaimed Sonic. "This show is rad!"

Suddenly…

"SONIC! SONIC! You gotta check this out!" Sonic's best friend, an orange fox named Miles "Tails" Prower, came running into the hut, plopped himself next to Sonic on the couch and changed the channel.

"Tails, what are ya doin', man!?" demanded Sonic. The show had been changed to _Super Changin' Muscle Rangers_, a popular TV show about a team of teenage superheroes. The theme song went:

"Go Go Muscle Rangers!

Go Go Muscle Rangers!

Go Go Muscle Rangers,

Super Changin' Muscle Rangeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrssssss s!"

"Oh, this show?" said Sonic. "I hate this show!" So he changed it back to _Edgar Eagle_.

Just a couple of seconds later, Tails changed it back to _Muscle Rangers_.

"But Sonic, you gotta watch this show!" pleaded Tails.

Sonic changed the channel back to _Edgar Eagle_ again.

"Tails, that show stinks! I'm not watchin' it!"

Nevertheless, Tails held his ground and changed the channel back to _Muscle Rangers_.

"Come on, you'd love this show! It's got lots of action, a rockin' soundtrack & some awesome fight scenes! It's right up your alley!"

The Blue Blur was unconvinced. He went back to _Edgar Eagle_.

"More like up my nose!"

His little orange friend wouldn't give up, though, and turned over to _Muscle Rangers_ yet again.

"Sonic, please! You gotta watch this show! Come on, just watch one episode with me!"

Sonic tried to grab the remote again, but Tails grabbed it too and held on tightly.

"Tails, let go of the remote, pal!"

"No, I wanna watch _Super Changin' Muscle Rangers_!"

"Well, I don't! Gimme the clicker back!"

"Sonic, no! Let go of it!"

Still, neither of them would let go of the remote, so they had a tug of war over it. In the process, however, it flew out of their hands and broke when it struck the wall.

"Fine…" said Sonic, now in a state of resignation, "Go ahead and watch your crummy show. I got better things to do, anyhow!" He left the hut.

"Sometimes, I just don't understand him," said Tails to himself. He just let go of the whole thing, though, and continued watching his show.

* * *

Outside, Sonic was surprised to discover the rest of the Knothole Freedom Fighters were having a lively discussion about something or other. Intrigued, he went over to see what was up.

"Hey, what's shakin', fellas?" asked Sonic. Everyone stopped talking and turned to face him.

"Oh, hi Sonic," said Sally Acorn, a brunette squirrel. "We were just talking about the latest TV shows!"

"Oh really?" inquired Sonic. "What shows?"

"There's this one you'd really love," replied Sally. "It's _Super Changin' Muscle Rangers_!"

"Oh, that crud?" said Sonic. "Eh, I'm outta here! It was nice talkin' to ya, I guess." Sonic turned around and proceeded to leave.

"Wait, where are y'all goin', Sugar-Hog?" asked Bunnie Rabbot, a golden rabbit with a robotic left arm & legs.

"Well, _Muscle Rangers_ just ain't my bag, Bunnie," replied Sonic. "'Sides, I got somethin' more important to take care of!"

"Now what's wrong with _Muscle Rangers_?" asked Bunnie. "Y'all would love that show! It's hotter than a flapjack in a volcano!"

"Yeah, it's awesome!" added Rotor Walrus. "I especially love the Vords, too."

"Vords, schmords!" retorted Sonic. "The show's still bogus!"

"Mais Sonic, if you are watching that show, you would overstand la beauty of Mademoiselle Hartman!" said Antoine Depardieu (D'Coolette), a tan coyote. "Ah, l'amour toujours!"

"Ant, it's only a TV show!"

"Non, it is not only a TV showing! It is a life-change experiencing!"

"It's 'life-changing experience'! Which it's not!"

"Come on, Sonic, you should watch the show sometime!" said Rotor.

"No way, Rote!" said Sonic. "I ain't watchin' that stupid show!"

"Sonic, have you even watched _Muscle Rangers_?" asked Sally.

"Of course I have!" replied Sonic. "Believe me, I've seen enough of it to know it's mondo uncool!"

"OK, so if you have seen it, then tell me, what do you hate about the show?"

"Because it got my show cancelled!"

"Sonic, that's a poor excuse! Besides, your show was _so_ 5 minutes ago!"

"It's OK, hon!" said Bunnie. "I'm sure y'all will take to _Muscle Rangers_ just as good as your ol' show!"

"It's not the same!" snapped Sonic. "Oh, and speaking of same…that's another problem with the show! It's the same flippin' thing every episode!"

"Oh, so you haven't watched the show, then," said Sally.

"Of course I have! Believe me, every episode is practically the same! Why don't they change it up a little?"

"Sonic, you're just generalizing about the show! If you actually took the time to watch the show, you'd see just how brilliant it is."

"Brilliant my foot! I'm done with this jive! You guys go on ahead and keep blabbin' about your 'brilliant' show. Gotta juice!" Sonic ran off into the Great Forest.

"Gee, I never figured he'd be spittin' upon the show like that," remarked Bunnie.

"It's OK, Bunnie," said Sally. "It's just another one of his phases. He'll get over it!"


	2. Got That Fever

Sonic was running through the Great Forest when somebody else talked to him:

"Hey Sonic, how's it going?" Sonic screeched to a halt. It was Knuckles the Echidna, a red echidna.

"Pretty good, I suppose," replied Sonic. "What brings you here, Knux?"

"I was just taking a little stroll through the forest."

"OK, that's cool."

"Say, Sonic, have you ever heard of a show called _Super Changin' Muscle Rangers_?"

"Who hasn't?"

"I know, right? Isn't it the greatest show ever!?"

"Well, that's the thing, Knuckles. It ain't!"

"I…what?"

"That's right, man! That show is awful!"

"No it's not! _Super Changin' Muscle Rangers_ is the best!"

"You gotta be kiddin' me! That show's so lame it's not even funny!"

"So!? It's not supposed to be funny…although it does have some funny parts in it, I guess…"

"Come on! I mean, _Super Changin Muscle Rangers_? HA! More like _Stupid Changin' Muscle Rangers_!"

"SHUT UP! That show is the best and you know it!"

"Your mom knows it!"

"Grrrrr…Sonic, I don't even have a mom!"

"Whatever. Smell ya later, Knucklehead!"

* * *

Sonic kept running through the Great Forest. All of a sudden, somebody glomped him! It was Amy Rose, a pink hedgehog wearing a red dress.

"YAAAAAY, it's you again, Sonic!" exclaimed Amy. "I've been looking all over for you!1!"

"*Sigh*…_what_ do you want, Amy?" asked Sonic.

"I have something to show you!" replied Amy. "Come on!"

Without further questions, Amy dragged Sonic over to her hut. Inside, it was decorated in pink & red colors, and there was a heart motif going on. Aside from that, it was also chock full of _Super Changin' Muscle Rangers_ merchandise. In particular, Amy had merchandise of Johnny Lee, the red Muscle Ranger, and Amy Hartman, the pink Muscle Ranger.

"Wait…so you're tellin' me that you're a _Super Changin' Muscle Rangers_ fan, too?" asked Sonic.

"Well, duh!" replied Amy. "I mean, isn't it, like, soooooooo awesome!?"

"Uh…yeah…sure. (_Not_.)"

"Just look at all of this! One of the Muscle Rangers is even named Amy, just like me!1! Isn't that super!?"

"Well yeah…"

"And Johnny Lee is…like, such a hunk! He even reminds me of you, Sonic!"

"I…"

"Just think…you and me…and _Muscle Rangers_…forever and ever and EVER! Wouldn't that be totally romantic!?

"Er…"

"By the way, Sonic, you totally have to check out some of my _Super Changin' Muscle Rangers_ fanfiction!1!"

"Look, Amy…I'd love to…but I got an important mission that needs takin' care of! Up, over and gone!" Without further dallying, Sonic ran out of Amy's hut and back to the Great Forest.

* * *

Sonic was continuing through the Great Forest, trying to keep the _Super Changin' Muscle Rangers_ off his mind.

"Man, what is it with these people!?" wondered Sonic. "You'd think they got that fever or…BOOF!"

Sonic had a collision with Shadow the Hedgehog, a black-and-red hedgehog who resembled Sonic. Well…except for the white chest fur and the differently-styled quills. Anyways, both hedgehogs were thrown to the ground upon colliding with each other.

"Shadow, watch it!" exclaimed Sonic.

"Listen, Faker," said Shadow, "I am going to forget the grievous error that you made because I am in a good mood right now."

"Eh?"

Shadow's scowl turned into a smirk. "It's true! I recently found an enjoyable program on TV!"

"Let me guess…you're a fan of…"

"Yes. Truly impressive, Sonic!"

"Impressive? Shadow, you're just bein' predictable, man! Everyone's been yakkin' about _Super Changin' Muscle Rangers_!"

"And why ever not? I can see why your silly little friends have been talking about it, too! I don't know about them, but I really admire Walt Zacharias, the black Muscle Ranger! His dark introspections really speak to a life form like me! Yes, for the first time in my entire life, I can truly say that I've found somebody that I really admire, somebody who understands what I'm going through!"

"Shadow, get a life! It's just a TV show!"

Shadow's smirk disappeared, reverting to that eternal frown that usually marked his face.

"It's NOT just a TV show!" snapped Shadow. "It's a glorious epiphany!"

"Oh, and did I mention how egregiously stupid it is?" said Sonic.

"You are pathetic, Sonic!"

"No I'm…wait a minute…I just realized something! Shadow, since when do you have a TV, never mind a house?"

"You don't understand me, Sonic! You never will!"

"Well, blue on black, cry me a river! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go somewhere where I can be free of people who can't dig the difference between real life & the tube. I'm outta here!"

Sonic ran away again.

"This changes nothing, faker!" shouted Shadow. "You'll never be as good as that show! NEVER!"

* * *

This time, Sonic took a break from running and decided to sit down by the shore of a pond.

"Hmph…_Super Changin' Muscle Rangers_…" grumbled Sonic. "Right up my alley…" Sonic continued his random grumblings.

While Sonic was brooding over the sudden popularity of a show he didn't like, he got a visitor, Rouge the Bat, a white bat. Instead of her normal outfit, she was wearing a tight-fitting, white V-neck T-shirt & a pair of black bell-bottom pants with a flower-print design.

"Hi there, Big Blue," said Rouge. "What brings you here today?"

"Oh…it's nothin'…" lamented Sonic, "…except that everybody's goin' on…" Suddenly, he noticed something: Rouge's T-shirt had the _Super Changin' Muscle Rangers_ logo on it! He stopped brooding and got to his feet.

"No…don't tell me…" said Sonic, with a hint of frustration present in his voice.

"Why, of course I'm a fan of _Super Changin' Muscle Rangers_!" said Rouge. "It's a must-have for the world's greatest agents!"

"Must-have? Nobody's gotta have it, especially not me!"

"Oh, don't be silly! I know that someone of your caliber would simply adore that show!"

"Me? Rouge, I think you're bein' silly! That's like the worst show of all time!"

"Oh Sonic, don't be so jealous! Deep down inside, you probably really love that show!"

"Yeah…and I can pull a bag of potato chips outta thin air! Ha!"

By now, Sonic felt something boiling within him, but Rouge kept up her teasing.

"Come on, Sonic, admit it!" said Rouge. "You're just jealous because people like that show more than they like you!"

"No I'm not!"

"Don't be shy! There's nothing wrong with feeling jealous! I know you're a big, strong hedgehog! If you give in to your true feelings, you'll get more pleasure out of life!"

"Pleasure? Pleasure!? LISTEN, BAT-BRAIN, YOU CAN TAKE THAT PLEASURE AND STICK IT IN YOUR EYE!" Sonic pointed his finger in Rouge's direction. "I'VE HAD IT WITH YOU PEOPLE AND THIS _SUPER CHANGIN' MUSCLE RANGERS_ JIVE! EVERYWHERE I GO, IT'S ALWAYS '_SUPER CHANGIN' MUSCLE RANGERS_' THIS OR '_SUPER CHANGIN' MUSCLE RANGERS_' THAT! I AIN'T GONNA WATCH IT, SO SHUT UP ABOUT THAT STUPID SHOW ALREADY! Oh, and you know what else!? YOU AIN'T ONE OF THE WORLD'S GREATEST AGENTS! YOU'RE JUST A TWO-BIT THIEF AND A COMPLETE BIMBO! AND WHAT'S WITH THOSE BIG EARS, ANYWAYS!? YOU KNOW WHAT THE PROBLEM IS, YOUR EARS ARE SO MONDO HUGE AND YET YOU DON'T GOT THE ABILITY TO LISTEN! YOU MAKE ME WANNA PUKE!"

Sonic stormed off into the Great Forest, while Rouge just stood there, absolutely astonished.

* * *

Sonic was really angry. In fact, he was so angry that he actually seemed to run faster because of it. He didn't care where he ran; he just ran and ran and ran, flailing his arms wildly. The only thing that got him to stop was Cream the Rabbit, a little rabbit with long ears & an orange dress. She was accompanied by her pet Chao, Cheese, a sort of humanoid blob-like creature that was colored light blue.

"Hello there, Mr. Sonic!" said Cream. "How are you?"

"Chao!" said Cheese.

"Cream…it's good…to see you!" said Sonic, who was huffing, puffing and sweating, an unusual thing for this hedgehog.

"Mr. Sonic, what's wrong?" asked Cream.

"Chao Chao?" asked Cheese.

"Cream…please…tell me…you're not…a…fan of the…_Super_…_Changin'_…_Muscle Rangers_!"

"What's that?"

"Oh, don't act…like…ya…don't know! It's that…TV show that…everyone's…talking…about."

Cream was silent for a few seconds, and then said: "Oh…that show! Well, I don't watch that show. Besides, I don't think my mom allows me to watch it."

"Thanks…" said Sonic, "That's all…I…needed to…hear!"

"OK, Mr. Sonic!"

"Chao!"

"By the way…" said Sonic, who seemed a little less tired, "Would you two mind…if I crashed at…your pad?"

"Oh, not at all, Mr. Sonic! Please, do come along; we'd love to have you visit!"

"Chao!"

"Thanks…" said Sonic.

"You're welcome!" said Cream. With that, the three went to Cream's hut.


	3. Serum of Truth

A few miles away from the natural beauty & lush green of Knothole & the Great Forest, there was Eggopolis, a sooty, slimy, barren industrial wasteland of a city, just a few ways away from becoming a total war zone. Before this, it used to be Emerald City, a friendly city with a forward look. Now, the citizenry – like the majority of the Mobian population – had been reduced to robotic shells of their former selves, their memories suppressed by a prime directive: OBEY.

In the center of this urban desolation, where the royal palace once stood, there was the headquarters of the aforementioned mad scientist, Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik. This fat, balding, mustachioed man used his iron fist and numerous mechanical creations to keep the citizens in line and to work his way up to his grand goal of world domination. The only problem standing in his way was…well…I'm sure you already read about the problem in the past few chapters.

While Dr. Robonik was sitting in his favorite chair, a short, nearly-bald man entered the throne room. This man was Snively, Robotnik's right-hand man and also nephew.

"Sir, I have a status report for you…" said Snively.

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT ANY STATUS REPORTS!" shouted Dr. Robotnik. "Every time you come to me with a status report, it's always about Sonic the Hedgehog and how he's managed to tear apart one of MY magnificent plans!"

"But sir…"

"NO 'BUTS'! Get out of here before I have you for breakfast!"

"S-sir…it's good news, I promise! I promise!"

"Are you prepared to accept the consequences of breaking that promise, Snively?"

"Y-y-y-y-yes, s-sir!"

"Very well, then. What is it?"

"The southwestern quadrant reports that troop levels are returning to normal. Furthermore, they were also able to capture a Freedom Fighter group operating in the Green Grove Zone!"

"Oooh, very good! Very good indeed, Snively! You get to continue working for my wondrous organization!" (_For now_, thought Robotnik)

"Thank you very much, sir!" Snively started to leave the throne room, but then he turned around and added, "Oh, and by the way, sir…"

"Yes, Snively?"

"I've discovered this fantastic TV program called _Super Changin' Muscle Rangers_! You must watch it when you get the chance!"

"Get out! GET OOOOUUUUUUT!"

"Eep!" Snively wasted no time in leaving the throne room.

As for Robotnik, he spent a few moments attending to routine matters, and then he got up from his chair and decided to see how his other henchmen were doing.

In the break room, he caught Scratch & Grounder watching a TV program. Scratch was a robotic chicken, and Grounder was a robotic…er, robot…with drill bits on his nose & arms.

"All right, that'll show 'em!" exclaimed Scratch. "Buh-HA Ha-HAAAA!"

"Yeah, bust 'em up!" exclaimed Grounder.

"What are you two idiots doing!?" demanded Robotnik.

"We're just watching some TV!" replied Scratch.

"Yeah!" said Grounder.

"You two junk piles are watching television when you're supposed to be WORKING!?" said Robotnik.

"Come on, boss!" pleaded Grounder. "It's _Super Changin' Muscle Rangers_!"

"Yeah!" said Scratch. "It's _only_ the hottest program on TV right now!"

"I DON'T CARE IF IT'S THE…" Suddenly, Robotnik's tone changed, "…wait, what was that last thing you said?"

"It's the hottest program on TV!" replied Scratch. Robotnik took a look at the program and watched the Muscle Rangers duking it out with the villain of the day.

"Hmmmmm…" said Dr. Robotnik, stroking his moustache.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the Great Forest, Sonic was at Cream's hut, along with her mother, Vanilla. In all respects, Vanilla was identical to her daughter, except that she wore darker eyeshadow and had a tuft of orange hair on her head. There were also the obvious height, weight, age and other dimensional differences, too. She wore a lavender dress with a crimson vest.

At the moment, it was lunchtime at the rabbits' household, and for their special guest, they prepared a few chili dogs. Sonic gobbled them down quickly.

"Thanks, Mrs. Cream's Mom!" said Sonic. "You make some of the most rockin' chili dogs in all of Mobius!"

"You're very welcome!" replied Vanilla. "Now, what brings you here, Sonic?"

"Ah, I'm just beat. You probably think I'm talkin' jive, but seriously, it ain't easy to be jettin' around all the time! It takes a lot of energy to keep runnin' at super speed, ya know?"

"I understand perfectly. Everyone needs to rest every now and then. So, how are your friends?"

"My friends? Oh, they're gravy."

"Well, that's nice."

* * *

In the city of San Santos, on the west coast of the Federal Republic of Columbia, there exists the district of Maplewood, which serves as the movie-making capital of Columbia. On the set of one of its many movie studios, the cast & crew of _Super Changin' Muscle Rangers_ were hard at work filming the next exciting episode of their TV series. In this scene, the Muscle Rangers were confronting Dina Disgusta, one of the show's main villains, in front of a local courthouse on set.

"Give up, Disgusta!" ordered Johnny Austin, the actor who played Johnny Lee. "Your court's been adjourned!"

"That's what you think!" retorted Barbara Perez, the actress who played Dina Disgusta. "I've already filed a motion to dismiss you twerps! Ha ha ha ha HA!"

Suddenly, a gang of SWATbots entered the scene and grabbed the actors who were playing the Muscle Rangers.

"CUT!" exclaimed the Director. "Hey, you guys aren't supposed to be in the scene yet!" The SWATbots ignored him and kept going with their captives.

"Wait a minute…what are you doing!?" demanded the Director. "Hey…wait…someone, stop those guys!" The actors' bodyguards came in and tried to free their clients from the grip of the SWATbots. Despite their strength, the bodyguards were simply swept aside by the SWATbots as if they were 98-pound weaklings.

"FREEZE!" A couple of security guards aimed their blaster pistols at the SWATbots. The guards fired a couple of bolts, but they did minimal damage. Two of the SWATbots fired their wrist-mounted lasers back at the security guards. They didn't hit the guards, but they melted the blaster pistols.

"RUN AWAY!" yelled one of the guards, and they did exactly that. Actors & crew members from other sets took notice of what was going on and tried to bust up the SWATbots, to little effect. The SWATbots laid down some suppressing fire with their laser guns before loading the _Muscle Rangers_ stars into some nearby hover units and taking off.

* * *

Back at Cream's hut, Sonic & the two rabbits decided to sit down and watch some television. After a little finagling, they found a program that they could all agree on: _Family Matters_. Cream sat down on the couch between Vanilla & Sonic, while Cheese sat in her lap. Everyone was having a good time, but then the program was interrupted just a few minutes in by a special news announcement:

"The stars of the TV show _Super Changin' Muscle Rangers_ have gone missing. Currently, there is no information regarding their disappearance, but the San Santos Police Department is currently investigating the matter."

"We now return to our show" said an announcer.

(_No information?_) thought Sonic. (_Ha! They ain't foolin' this Hedgehog! It's obvious that Robuttnik's…_) Suddenly, Sonic had an unexpected reaction: His heart began to beat more wildly and he started to sweat nervously. He turned to Vanilla:

"Uh…Cream's Mom…?" said Sonic.

"Yes, what is it?" asked Vanilla.

"Listen…I gotta fess up…"

"Sonic, what's wrong?"

"Well…ya see…ya know that show _Super Changin' Muscle Rangers_?"

"Yes, what about it?"

"Well…uh…here's the skinny: The real reason I came to your pad is because all my friends won't shut up about that show! I mean, ever since I got back from my daily run, they're all 'Sonic, _Super Changin' Muscle Rangers_ is awesome!' or, 'Ya gotta check out _Super Changin' Muscle Rangers_!' and I'm sick of it! Now, here's the mondo big problem: I can tell just by lookin' at that news report that the stars of that show were kidnapped…by Robuttnik! Now, I hate their show and all, but part of me wants to go out and rescue those guys from Robuttnik! Oh man, oh man…I don't know what to do!"

"Sonic, I know exactly how you feel!"

"Ya do?"

"Yes. It's OK to feel confused; just listen to your heart, Sonic!"

Sonic paused for a few seconds and calmed down. Then, he had a spark of realization:

"Bingo! I know exactly what to do now! Thanks for the livin' and everything!"

"You're welcome!" said Cream & Vanilla.

"Gotta scream, Cream!" Without further ado, Sonic bolted out the door and headed back into the Great Forest.

"Bye, Sonic!" said Cream & Vanilla.

"Chao!" said Cheese.

After Sonic left, Cream turned to her mother and said: "Isn't Mr. Sonic great?"

"He certainly is," replied Vanilla. "Cream, I think you're lucky to have such good friends!"

"Me too!" said Cream.

"Chao!" said Cheese.

* * *

While Sonic was running through the Great Forest, he said, "Man, I never thought I'd feel sorry for that show! I gotta tell…WHOA!" Rouge grabbed Sonic by the collar and spun him around to face her.

"YOU!" shouted Rouge, who slapped Sonic hard and left a bright red mark on his cheek. "You owe me an apology, you little punk! I have never felt so insulted in my entire life! Nobody has ever said anything like that to me, not even Knuckie! You should be ashamed of yourself, Big Blue!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, WHOA! Rouge…I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to blow up at ya like that! It's just that everyone's been on my case about _Super Changin' Muscle Rangers_ and I got fed up with it! I never meant any of those things I said! You're an awesome person…really! We cool?"

Rouge pondered Sonic's words for a few moments, and then said, "Well…all right." She loosened her grip on Sonic. "I suppose I can't be mad at you forever."

"Whew…that's a relief!"

"Just remember, it's only a TV show. There's no need to get upset about it!"

"'Just a TV show?'" Sonic chuckled at Rouge's words. "And you're the one who's sayin' it's a must-have! Hahaha!"

Rouge grabbed Sonic by the collar again.

"SONIIIIIIIIC…"

"Hey, I was only kiddin'! You're still the best!"

Rouge let go of Sonic, blushing slightly. She said, "OK, I'll accept that! Have a wonderful day, Big Blue!"

"You too!" After a couple seconds pause, he told Rouge, "Oh, did ya hear that the _Super Changin' Muscle Rangers_ were kidnapped?"

"Really? Oh my! What episode did this happen?"

"Episode!? This ain't no TV show, baby; the actors got kidnapped for real!"

"OH NO! I'm coming for you, Frankie!" Rouge flew away.

"Wait!" cried Sonic. However, Rouge didn't bother to stop. So, Sonic continued running.


	4. Serious Business

While Sonic was running back to Knothole, he ran into Shadow again.

"Sonic, I've changed my mind about being in a good mood." said Shadow.

"Aw, boo-hoo, Shadow!" taunted Sonic.

"Listen, Faker, you're gonna pay for this insolence!"

"Ah, cut the baloney! I got more important things to do right now!" Sonic continued running, but Shadow blocked his path.

"You're not going anywhere!" said Shadow. "No one gets in my way and gets away with it!'

"Well, maybe ya shouldn't be so clumsy!" retorted Sonic. "I think your brain's still a bit scrambled from bein' locked up so long."

"Oh, and you know what else? No one – and I mean NO ONE – makes fun of _Super Changin' Muscle Rangers_! Do you understand, Faker!?"

"Well, I made fun of it anyways! What are ya gonna do about it? Oh, and speaking of…"

"I challenge you to a fight! We're going to settle this once and for all!"

"Sorry, I ain't got time for this. I gotta go!" Sonic attempted to run away, but no matter where he tried to go, Shadow always blocked him.

"Shadow, I'm sorry, man!" exclaimed Sonic. "I promise I'll be more careful next time. We solid now?"

"Not good enough! I'm not leaving until I get payback!"

"Fine! Payback THIS!" Sonic landed a brutal right hook on Shadow's cheek. Shadow certainly felt that blow, but he kept his footing. Now, the fight was really on. Shadow tackled Sonic to the ground and started punching him in the face. However, Sonic threw him off and flipped himself back up. Turning to face Shadow, he charged at him and tried a jump kick. Shadow dodged the kick, though, and retaliated with a Spin Dash.

"WHOA!" exclaimed Sonic, who jumped out of the way. Afterwards, he retaliated with a karate chop, striking Shadow over the head. Nevertheless, Shadow shook it off, picked Sonic up and threw him towards a tree. While the Blue Blur got a nasty bruise and cracked the tree a bit, the tree still stood. So, he ran towards Shadow, only to get kicked in the gut. Luckily, Sonic didn't regurgitate the chili dogs he'd eaten earlier, but he sure came close.

While Sonic was still reeling from the kick, Shadow pulled out a Chaos Emerald and said, "Chaos…" However, before he could finish, Sonic recovered, performed a roundhouse kick and knocked the Emerald out of Shadow's hand. Enraged, Shadow ignored Sonic and went for the green gem that he'd been holding. Sonic ran after the Emerald too, hoping to prevent Shadow from pulling any clever tricks. Both hedgehogs tackled each other to the ground, struggling with each other.

"Shadow…drop it!" pleaded Sonic.

"No," retorted Shadow. "I won't stop…until you've paid…for your insolence!"

"But Shadow…I gotta tell you…about…the _Muscle Rangers_!"

Shadow's hand inched ever closer to the Chaos Emerald.

"Yes…" said Shadow. "You wish…to say sorry."

"No…that ain't it!"

"Then…what?"

"They've…been…kidnapped!"

Just as Shadow could almost touch his Emerald, he exclaimed "WHAT!?" and ceased his struggle. Both the hedgehogs got to their feet.

"It's true, man" said Sonic.

"THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS! NOBODY kidnaps Walt Zacharias and gets away with it! Who could have done such a heinous thing!?"

"If ya ask me, Robuttnik's gotta be the one behind this whole thing. However, I don't think…"  
Shadow picked up his Chaos Emerald and interrupted with: "Thank you, Sonic. That's all I need!"

"Shadow, wait…"

"CHAOS CONTROL!" In an instant, Shadow was gone.

"Gee, ya think that patience would be in their vocabularies!" said Sonic. Rather than going with Rouge & Shadow, he went back to Knothole.

* * *

When Ol' Blue arrived, Knothole seemed empty.

"Uh-oh, where'd everyone go?" wondered Sonic.

Luckily, the village was not completely empty. Flicky, a small blue bird, was still here.

"Yo Flicks, where is everybody?" asked Sonic.

"They went to the meeting house," replied Flicky.

"Gravy! Catch ya later!"

* * *

Inside the meeting house, Sally, Tails, Knuckles, Bunnie, Amy, Antoine, Rotor and a couple of other villagers were discussing…actually, you can guess what they were discussing, so we'll get to the point: Sonic burst into the meeting house all of a sudden.

"Guys! Guys!" exclaimed Sonic. "I got somethin' to tell ya!"

"What is it, Sonic?" asked Tails.

"Is something wrong?" asked Sally. "What happened to you?"

"Never mind that," replied Sonic, "I'm here about the _Super Changin' Muscle Rangers_!"

"Sonic, I didn't know you cared about that show! Hee hee!" replied Sally.

"No Sal, that ain't it!"

"Oh Sonic, of course it is! We knew you would get over your little phase!  
"Yeah, welcome to the club, Sonic!" said Rotor.

"Guys, quit yankin' my legs!" ordered Sonic. "They got kidnapped! This is serious business!"

"WHAT!?" exclaimed the group.

"When the heck did this happen?" asked Tails.

"Why am I always the past one to be knowing about these things?" wondered Antoine.

"Dang it, Sonic, you'd better not be giving away the plot of the next episode!" said Knuckles.

"No man," said Sonic, "I mean, the actors who played them got kidnapped!"

Everyone cried "WHAT!?" again.

"Well, I guess you really do care!" said Sally.

"Sal, Tails, everyone, listen to me!" pleaded Sonic. "This ain't about what TV shows we like or don't like! This is about doin' the right thing! Now, we started this outfit because we wanted to save the world from bein' taken over by Robuttnik, right? Well, sometimes, bein' a hero means we gotta help people even if we don't got the same opinions as them! It's about listening to our hearts, ya dig?"

"Wow…Sonic, that was…profound!" exclaimed Sally.

"Yeah, that was totally sweet of you, Sonic!" said Amy.

"But wait…who kidnapped them?" asked Tails.

"Who do ya think?" replied Sonic.

"Sacre bleu!" exclaimed Antoine. "Allons-y!"

"Don't worry, Johnny!" exclaimed Amy. "I'll save you, my love!" Amy & Antoine charged for the door.

"No…wait a minute…" The two crazed _Muscle Rangers_ fans ignored Sonic's advice and plowed him over. Tails & Sally rushed to his aid.

"Sonic, are you all right?" asked Tails.

"I'm feelin' sore, but other than that, I'm chill," said Sonic. After Sonic got to his feet, Rotor spoke up:

"Hold on, I've got something I've been working on for a while that might work! Here's what we do…"

* * *

Meanwhile, the stars of _Super Changin' Muscle Rangers_ awoke in a strange place. They were all tied together with some force field.

"Well well, if it isn't the Super Changin' Muscle Rangers!" remarked Dr. Robotnik. "Welcome to my evil lair!"

"Just who do you think you are!?" snapped Johnny Austin.

"Why, I am Dr. Ivo Robotnik, although you may also call me Dr. Eggman! I am the almighty ruler of the world!"

"Yo mama's the ruler of the world!" retorted Manny Taylor, the actor who played Walt Zacharias.

"SILENCE!" shouted Robotnik.

"What do you want with us!?" cried Amy Sutherland, the actress who played Amy Hartman.

"Do not worry, my dear," replied Robotnik, "I am a big fan of your television show! I mean no harm to you!"

"Yeah, well you've got an odd way of showing it!" retorted Oliver Davidson, the actor who played Frankie Thompson, the green Ranger.

"Yeah, if we weren't tied up right now, we'd kick your butt!" exclaimed Alicia Huynh, the actress who played Ashley Trang, the yellow Ranger.

"You? Kick my butt?" said Robotnik. "AHAHAHAHA! I would love to see you try, my dear!"

"Come on, just let us go!" begged Harry Cranston, the actor who played David Williams, the blue Ranger. "We've got an episode to film!"

"You're not going anywhere!" said Robotnik. "I've got my own plans for you! MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Rouge joined Shadow near the city limits of Eggopolis.

"You didn't think you were going on this little rescue mission without me, did you?" said Rouge.

"Wait, how did you know I was going to rescue the _Super Changin' Muscle Rangers_?" asked Shadow.

"Well, duh! It's the most popular TV show right now! I figured that even you would be a fan!"

"Very well played, Bat Girl. Just focus on the mission, OK?"

"Got it. By the way, Shadow, since when do you own a TV…or even a house?"

"Look, _he_ already asked that question, and if you have to ask, you're wasting your time! We've got a job to do, so just drop it!"

"Whatever you say, friend." (_How do I put up with this guy, again?_ thought Rouge)

Suddenly, something – or rather, someone – was coming up on Shadow & Rouge. It was Amy (Rose, naturally), dragging Antoine along.

"So, you two have decided to go on this mission with us, too?" said Shadow. "Just don't screw up!"

"Don't mind him," said Rouge. "I'm just glad that you & I can finally agree on something, girl! Now, let's go!" The group went onwards to Eggopolis.

* * *

Unbeknownst to them, they were being observed by Grounder & Scratch.

"Intruders sighted!" said Grounder, who was using a binocular attachment to watch them.

"All right!" exclaimed Scratch. "We'll zap 'em good! Buh-HA ha-HAAAAA!"

"Yeah!" said Grounder

"Hey, did ya remember to set up the zap trap?"  
"But I thought you were gonna set it up!"

"No, you had to set it up this time!"

"Aw, come on! I set up the trap the last time!"

"Well, set it up anyways, ya moron! Robotnik said he wanted us watching out for intruders!"

"No, you set it up!"

"No, you set it up!"

"You set it up!"

"You set it up!"

While Scratch & Grounder were squabbling, the four heroes passed by the spot where the trap was supposed to be.

"Aw great, now they got away!" exclaimed Grounder.

"Well this wouldn't have happened if ya hadn't forgotten to set the trap, poindexter!" retorted Scratch.

"But you were the one who was supposed to set it!"

"Ah, quit your whinin'! Let's just grab the thing and…wait, where did we put that thing, anyways?"

"See!? If you'd set it up, then ya wouldn't have lost it!"

"That's it, gimme the remote, buster!" Scratch attempted to grab the remote from Grounder, and a struggle ensued. In the struggle, Scratch accidentally pressed the button on the remote, causing the two of them to get zapped by their own trap.

"Nice job, birdbrain!" said Grounder.

"Aw, can it!" retorted Scratch.

* * *

Finally, Shadow & the others made it to Eggopolis.

"It's not far now," said Shadow. "Let's teach that stupid doctor a lesson!"

"Yeah!" shouted Amy.

Within seconds, they found themselves surrounded by SWATbots and a few other badniks.

"Intruder alert. Priority one!" said one of the SWATbots.

"You can't stop me!" said Shadow. "CHAOS CONTROL!" With time frozen, Shadow demolished all those badniks within seconds.

"Let's go!" The group kept going. Suddenly, Shadow was hit by a laser bolt and fell unconscious.

"NO!" cried Rouge, who rushed over to Shadow. The Ultimate Life Form was still alive; he'd merely been hit by a stun bolt. Seeing that her friend still had vital signs, Rouge was somewhat relieved. However, any sense of relief that she might have had was immediately dispelled when some more badniks surrounded them.

"Hold it!" ordered a Hoverbot pilot. "No false moves!" Seeing that they were surrounded, Rouge, Amy & Antoine gave up and were carted off to Robotnik's HQ.


	5. Sonikku Sentai Segaranger

Meanwhile, back in San Santos, at the offices of Sorin Brands, a meeting was being held. Heading up this meeting were Hank Sorin & Sheldon Leib, executive producers for _Super Changin' Muscle Rangers_. Hank Sorin was clean-shaven and had short hair, while Sheldon Leib had feathered hair & a beard.

"So, what's the status on our investigations?" asked Sorin.

"Well sir," replied one of the employees, "we haven't found anything on the kidnappers yet, and neither have the police."

"Damn it, Robinson," said Sorin, "we've gotta find 'em soon! We've got one of the hottest programs in Columbia right now, and if we don't find our stars, we're sunk!"

"Hank, if I may," said Leib, "the police are doing everything in their power to find them. You know that as well as I do!"

"Well, who the heck kidnaps the stars of the hottest TV program in Columbia and gets away with it!?" asked Sorin.

Before his question could be answered, Bokkun flew into the room. Bokkun was a small black robot with two horns on his head and a jetpack on his back.

"Message for you from Dr. Eggman!" said Bokkun, who activated a small yellow TV he was carrying. The image of Robotnik popped up on the screen.

"Greetings, Misters Sorin & Leib," said Robotnik. "My name is Dr. Ivo Robotnik, but you may also call me Dr. Eggman! As the supreme ruler of the world, I just wanted to inform you that your precious little Muscle Rangers are safe with _me_! Heheheheheheheheh!" The camera panned and focused on the Muscle Rangers stars, still bound by their force fields.

Everyone was shocked when they saw this.

"Damn you!" exclaimed Sorin, who shook his fists at the television, "When I get my hands on you, I'm gonna…"

"Hank, it's a pre-recorded message!" said Leib, who put his hand on Sorin's arm. "Let's hear the rest of it."

Sorin calmed down.

"Now," continued Robotnik, "I am a reasonable man, and I am most willing to return your pitiful little stars to you…on one condition: Deliver me a ransom of 500 million Mobiums in five days. I believe that's roughly equal to 500 million Columbian dollars, is it not?"

Everyone was astonished by the price  
"WHAT!? 500 MILLION DOLLARS!?" shouted Sorin. "That's impossible!"

"Hank…" said Leib.

Sorin calmed down again, while Robotnik continued his message.

"If you fail to deliver the ransom by that time, or if you attempt anything funny, I shall have those wretched primadonnas roboticized! Just in case you think I'm not serious, allow me to show you the results of this wondrous little process!"

The camera focused on Wes Westinghouse, former anchorman for Mobius State News, who was now roboticized.

"IN TODAY'S NEWS, ROBOTNIK IS THE GREATEST," said Wes. "ALL HAIL THE SUPREME GLORIOUS LEADER, DR. ROBOTNIK."

Everyone was also shocked by the sight of this.

"Oh, don't worry," continued Robotnik, "I have more subjects where _he_ came from! Muhahahahahahaha!" This time, the camera panned over to Shadow, Rouge, Amy & Antoine, who were all encased in plexiglass tubes, trying in vain to escape.

"Gentlemen, you have five days to think it over," said Robotnik. "I trust you will come to a decision by then, will you not?"

Upon the conclusion of the message, the TV exploded. Nobody was hurt, but everybody was covered in soot. Bokkun had a good laugh and went away.

"That's it, I've had enough of this!" exclaimed Sorin.

"What do we do now, sir?" asked another employee.

"Peterson, get my hover unit ready," ordered Sorin. "We're going to Mobius!"

"Mobius? What for?" asked Leib.

"I know exactly what I'm going over there for. Come on, Sheldon!"

* * *

Back in Mobius, Sonic, Tails and the other Freedom Fighters were heading for Eggopolis. Unlike the others, they were more cautious, so they made it into the city itself with hardly a problem and were well on their way to Robotnik's lair. Suddenly…

"Hedgehog alert! Priority one! Surrender!" They found themselves surrounded by SWATbots.

"Aw, bummer!" exclaimed Sonic. "I was hopin' for a surprise early birthday party!"

"Silence!" ordered one of the SWATbots. "Surrender now or be terminated!"

"I dunno, I'm gonna have to think about this for a bit." Sonic turned to his friends: "What do ya think, guys?"

"I'm not sure, either," said Tails

"Well, we have to do something!" said Sally.

"Hey, enough talkin'!" exclaimed Knuckles. "We gotta do something or we're toast!"

"What will it be?" demanded the SWATbot leader.

"Hey, give us a sec, will ya?" asked Sonic. He & his friends huddled together and discussed their current predicament. After a few moments, they broke the huddle.

"OK," said Sonic, "we…uh…think fast!"

Suddenly, Sonic hit a SWATbot with a surprise Spin Dash! His friends took advantage of the SWATbots' momentary surprise to attack them. Tails used a claw hammer, Sally used her computer NICOLE to shoot lasers, Rotor used a pipe wrench, and the rest of the gang used their bare hands.

Having made short work of the SWATbots, they proceeded further to Robotnik's lair, when suddenly, they were met by a group of Hover Bots & Buzz Bombers. They had a rather tough time with this group, so they just dodged whatever they could and crushed the rest.

They finally made it to Robotnik's lair, only to get attacked by more badniks. Luckily, Sonic & co. ducked into a ventilation shaft and lost them.

"NICOLE, search for any life signs belonging to the _Muscle Rangers_ actors!" said Sally.

"Searching…" said NICOLE. "Location found." The location in question was on a different floor, but not excessively far away.

"All right, let's roll!" said Sonic.

* * *

While Sonic & his crew had been busy trying to save the _Muscle Rangers_ stars, the stars were being forced to play one of Robotnik's sick & twisted games: Dressed up in their _Muscle Rangers_ costumes, they were acting out a scene from a _Super Changin' Muscle Rangers_ episode that the evil Doctor had written, while some floating cameras filmed it. In this scene, they were surrounded by a few badniks in what appeared to be a snowy mountain backdrop.

"Oh no!" exclaimed Harry/David. "They got us! I don't think we'll live to see the end of July…" Suddenly, he broke character and turned to Robotnik: "Do you really mean that?"

"OF COURSE I MEAN THAT!" shouted Robotnik. "Now, take it from the top and get it right this time, pea-brain!"

"Do you really think you want to say 'July' over the snow?" asked Harry. "Isn't that the fun of it?"

"Just shut up and do the scene like you're supposed to!"

"Look, Mr. Eggman…"  
"THAT'S 'DR. EGGMAN'! I didn't go to evil engineering school to be called 'Mister'!"

"…Sorry, Dr. Eggman…I think it's so nice that…that we're in a snowy mountain and we say 'end of July'…"

"And one more thing:" interrupted Robotnik, "I'm sorry, but…"

"Yes, _always_!" Harry interrupted right back.

"GRRRR…DON'T INTERRUPT!" Robotnik calmed down a little. "Now, could you emphasize the 'end' a bit? 'END of July'?"

"Aw, come on!" exclaimed Johnny. "Even I know that doesn't make any sense!"

"You stay out of this!" said Robotnik.

"He's right," said Harry, "There's just no way that one can say an English sentence like that and emphasize 'end'! It's statistically impossible!"

"I DON'T CARE!" shouted Robotnik. "Do it or else you're going into the Roboticizer!"

"Hey man, get me a jury and show me how you can say 'end' like that and I'll bake a cake for you!" retorted Johnny. The other _Muscle Rangers_ stars laughed at his wisecracking.

"I said stay OUT!" shouted Robotnik. "I will have no more of this tomfoolery from you!"

"Dr. Eggman, if I may," said Harry. "I would just like to take a look at the script again. Please?"

"*Sigh*…very well. But make it fast! If you waste any more of my time, you'll all be roboticized! I shall not have to make myself any clearer than this!"

So, Harry and the others took off their helmets and grabbed their scripts and started reading them over silently. It wasn't long before Harry spoke up again:

"Dr. Eggman, I don't think you know what we're up against! See, about this line: 'Great, now what are we to be doing next?', well…see…it may be grammatically correct, but it's tough on the ear, you know?"

"Look, you imbecile, if you'll just emphasize 'are'…"

"But you can't emphasize 'are'!" said Johnny. "That's like wanting to emphasize 'end' before July!"

"WELL, YOU'RE EMPHASIZING IT ANYWAY!"

At this point, Johnny had enough and threw his script down on the floor. Everyone else followed suit.

"Man, you're losin' you're head!" exclaimed Johnny. "I wouldn't direct anybody like this in Shakespeare! Impossible! Meaningless!" He & the rest of the _Muscle Rangers_ stars started to walk away.

"HALT!" exclaimed Robotnik. "Guards, seize them! Place them in the Roboticizer!"

Suddenly, Snively came running over.

"Sir! Sir! We have a problem!" said Snively.

"Of course we have a problem!" said Robotnik. "Our actors are refusing to cooperate! Now go away, Snively!"

"No, that's not what I was talking about!"

"Then what!?"

"We have some intruders! I tried to warn you earlier, but you told me not to disturb you and I got very confused!"

Robotnik threw his hands up in the air.

"WHAT!? Where are they now, Snively!?"

"They're…"

Suddenly, Sonic & his team jumped down through one of the air vents and into the arena where all this was taking place.

"All right, get your flabby mitts off of those dudes before we bust you up!" said Sonic.

"Ah, I should've known it was you, Hedgehog!" said Robotnik. "After them!"

The SWATbots who were holding the Muscle Rangers hostage disregarded their captives and went for Sonic's team instead. They made pretty short work of those guys, but it wasn't enough. Soon, they were surrounded by a whole legion of SWATbots & Buzz Bombers.

"You're surrounded, you miserable mammals!" said Robotnik. "There's no way out!"

"Hey, is that any way to give a guy a surprise party!?" retorted Sonic.

"Sonic, we need Dinovord power, now!" said Rotor.

"OK then!" Sonic raised his right fist, which had a mysterious ring on it. "Gotta juice!"

Nothing happened.

"No Sonic, that's not it!" said Rotor.

"Oh…right." Sonic tried again. "Go Go Gadget Ring!"

Still nothing.

"Enough fooling around!" said Robotnik. "Come along!"

Sally nudged Sonic with her elbow.

"Sonic, you're supposed to say the name of the Vord, remember!?"

"Right…I knew that!" Sonic was about to raise his fist again, but he paused and asked: "Uhh…what was my Vord again?"

The badniks were slowly closing in on the group.

"Ugh…" Sally facepalmed. "It's the raptor, Sonic."

"Oh yeah, I remember now!" exclaimed Sonic. "It's changin' time!" He and the rest of the group raised their fists.

"RaptorVord!" said Sonic.

"Pterodactyl!" said Tails.

"Allosaurus!" said Sally.

"RhinoVord!" said Knuckles.

"StegoVord!" said Bunnie.

"Polar bear!" said Rotor.

Everyone was now dressed up in color-coded _Muscle Rangers_ outfits (minus the helmets). A few moments later, their respective Vords came crashing through the walls of the arena.

"What!?" exclaimed Robotnik.

"All right, let's rock & roll!" exclaimed Sonic. Everyone jumped into the cockpits of their Vords.

"Sonic here, ready to rock!"

"This is Tails, I'm nominal!"

"Knuckles is here, and I'm gonna crush 'em!"

"Bunnie here, let's start this rodeo!"

"Rotor reporting, all systems go!"

"Let's do this!" said Sally.

With their Vords powered up, the team was ready to go. Er…almost.

"Hey, how do ya control this thing!?" asked Sonic.

"It's easy, Sonic! said Rotor. "All you have to do is use the levers & foot pedals to move, remember?"

With that, they were truly ready to go. The Vords proved almost impervious to the SWATbots' laser rifles & the deadly stings of the Buzz Bombers. Off to the side, Shadow, Rouge, Amy, Antoine & the _Muscle Rangers_ stars were cheering them on.

"No! This wasn't meant to happen!" cried Robotnik. "However, I'm not done with them yet! Eheheheheheheheh!"

When the smoke cleared, Sonic's crew was victorious!

"Dy-no-mite!" exclaimed Sonic.

"Yee-haw!" exclaimed Bunnie.

"OK, let's rescue the others and get out of here!" said Rotor.

"Wait a minute, something's wrong here!" said Knuckles. "Where's Robotnik?"

"Uh-oh, I have a bad feeling about this…" said Tails.

Suddenly, the whole arena started to shake. Then, two giant doors slid open, and out came Robotnik, piloting a new version of his Death Egg Robot. This one was largely identical to the one that Sonic had fought a couple of years ago, only now it was dressed up to look more like Lord Vedd, another _Muscle Rangers_ villain.

"I knew it!" said Tails.

"Come on, guys!" said Sonic. "Let's wreck this junk heap!" Sonic & friends tried to attack the Death Egg Robot, but it wasn't much use. The giant mech was nearly impervious to their Vords and swatted them away as if they were mosquitoes.

"Dang it!" exclaimed Sonic. "What do we do now!?"

"Sonic, we should go into Megavord Mode now!" said Rotor. "Switch to Tank Mode first!"

"Thanks for the brain juice! I know just what to do here!"

Sonic & the others said, simultaneously: "POWER UP!" They all hit the large button in the center of their Vords' control panels and joined into a large, tank-like vehicle, except for Tails' PteroVord.

"Switching to battle mode!" said Sonic.

Then, a computerized voice said: "MEGAVORD SEQUENCE HAS BEEN INITIATED", and their vehicle stood up to become a giant robot. When Tails' PteroVord joined up, the computerized voice said: "MEGAVORD ACTIVATED."

"All right!" exclaimed Sonic. "You're goin' down, Robuttnik!"

"We'll see about that!" retorted Robotnik. Then, the next phase of battle began. The Megavord proceeded to beat the crap out of the Death Egg Robot and cause plenty of damage to the arena. However, Robotnik countered by firing missiles from his robot's hand, which dealt quite a bit of damage to the Megavord.

During this phase, the tubes holding Shadow, Rouge, Amy & Antoine were broken by flying debris. Seeing this, Sonic grabbed the radio/PA mic from the control panel and said: "Shadow, if you can hear me, you guys boogie on out of here and take the Muscle Rangers with ya! We'll try to hold Robuttnik off!"

"Right!" replied Shadow. While the Megavord was still fighting, Shadow & his crew slipped away with the _Muscle Rangers_ stars in tow. The Death Egg Robot's attention never strayed.

As for the Megavord, it was still struggling.

"Why won't he croak!?" demanded Sonic.

"There's one last thing we can try," said Rotor. "Power up the Muscle Sword!"

"Oh yeah!" exclaimed Sonic. Thus, with the Muscle Sword spawned, the Megavord could not only block the Death Egg Robot's attacks, but it was better-equipped to take on the giant mech. After a few good swipes, the Death Egg Robot was destroyed. However, Robotnik managed to eject from the machine, unhurt except for his pride.

"I HAAAAAAAAAAAAATE THAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT HEDGEHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOG!" shouted Robotnik.

Its mission complete, the Megavord separated into its individual Vords. Sonic & the rest of the honorary Muscle Rangers jumped out.

"Oh yeah!" exclaimed Sonic. "That was _waaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyy_ past cool!"

"You said it, Sonic!" said Tails.

"Come on, let's go!" said Sally. The group escaped Robotnik's HQ, while the Vords returned to their lair.


	6. Heroes to the Heroes

Eventually, Sonic reunited with Shadow, the Muscle Rangers, and all those other cats, who were out in the plains. Everyone was having a good time chatting with each other.

"Hey, I can't thank you guys enough for what you did back there!" said Johnny.

"Ain't no thang!" said Sonic. "We're always glad to play hero for folks in need!"

"Yeah!" said Tails. "Sonic & I have saved the world lots of times!"

"Really?" queried Johnny. "Tell me more; I'm all ears!"

Harry was having a conversation with Rotor:

"I've seen a number of technological developments both on and off the set," said Harry, "but what I just saw far surpassed anything I had seen before! Did you create those?"

"Yes, I did!" replied Rotor. "I can't exactly give away all my secrets, but maybe I can give you guys some technical advice for the show! Will you let me?"

"Actually, I think you'd have to talk to the executive producers, but I'm sure they'd be open to suggestions."

Bunnie & Alicia were having a spirited conversation, too:

"Hey, thanks for saving me!" said Alicia.

"Aw, it was nothin'!" said Bunnie. "I'm just happier than a fox in a chicken coop right now!"

"Wow, you've got a real way with words! Maybe you could be a writer for the show someday!"

"Aw, shucks…I'd love to, but I already got a job that needs doin'!"

"Don't worry; the series is still doing well! I'm sure you'll get an opportunity one day!"

"Ya really think so?"

"Sure!"

Sally & the two Amys were also having a lively conversation:

"I'm soooooo glad to meet you!1!" exclaimed Amy Rose. "My name is Amy, too, and I have all your merchandise!"

"Wow…I've never seen anyone as excited as you!" said Amy Sutherland.

"Believe it! Your show is, like, one of the greatest things I've ever seen!"

"You know what I love about your show?" said Sally. "I love the fact that even though you act like a 'valley girl', your character can be surprisingly deep!"

"Like thanks, Sally!" said Ms. Sutherland. "That was totally sweet of you!"

"You're welcome!

"Oh, and guess what else!?" said Amy Rose. "I even wrote my own _Muscle Rangers_ fanfiction!111!"

"You write fanfiction, too!?" exclaimed Amy Sutherland. "Omigosh, that is _tooooo_ funny!"  
"Omigosh, no way!1!1! We should totally get together some time!"

"I'd love to, but I've got a busy schedule! I totally won't forget you, Amy!"

"Nor will I, Amy!"

(_Well, I'm happy that Ms. Rose has found a passion of her own_,) thought Sally, (_but I doubt that her writings are very good._)

Suddenly, Antoine cut in and grabbed Amy Sutherland's hand.

"Oh, Mademoiselle Hartman, I am honoring to minally feet you!" exclaimed Antoine, who started to passionately kiss Ms. Sutherland's hand. However, she jerked it away and slapped Antoine.

"Ewwwww, get away from me, you creep!" exclaimed Ms. Sutherland. Turning to Amy Rose, she asked: "What's his problem!?"

"Don't worry about him!" replied Amy Rose. "He's just gaga right now! I think maybe it was from being held hostage. But hey, I can't blame him! I'd _sooooo_ do that to Sonic if I ever went bonkers!1!

Meanwhile, Rouge took an interest in Oliver:

"Hey, nice to meet you, darling! My name's Rouge the Bat, but you can call me Rouge!" She winked at him.

"Nice to meet you," said Oliver. Rouge kissed his hand, while he merely gave her an odd look.

"Say, that show of yours is fantastic!" said Rouge. "Are you free at all?"

"Unfortunately, no. I've got a busy schedule ahead of me."

"Awww…too bad. I was hoping we could go out together! However, if you change your mind, I've got something for you!" Rouge took out a pen & paper from her cleavage, wrote down her phone number, kissed the paper and handed it to Oliver.

"Call me sometime, eh?" Rouge winked at Oliver again. Knuckles was on the sideline, facepalming at Rouge's advances. She took notice of this.

"What!?" said Rouge.

"Ugh…you know he's not gonna go out with you, right?" replied Knuckles.

Rouge's demeanor became more comical:

"Oh, don't be so jealous, Knuckie! I can give my number to whoever I want!"

"I'm not jealous! I'm just being realistic!"

"Don't deny it; I know when you're being jealous!"

"Grrrrrrrr…SHUT UP!"

Oliver couldn't help but laugh at the whole thing. Knuckles went over to him and said: "What, you think this is funny!?"

"Sorry, couldn't help it, man!" said Oliver.

Of course, Shadow was elated to see his idol, Manny Taylor, so much so that he actually bowed before the guy.

"Oh Walt, I cannot tell you what an honor this is!" said Shadow. "To me, you're more than a hero; you're a brother! For many years now, I have been without a friend or family, and for the first time in my life, I have found a guiding light! Thank you so very much!"

"Yo, little man, you can get up now!" said Manny.

"Yes, my master." Shadow did so.

"'Master'!?" Manny laughed. "Man, you must be some kind of crazy!"

"No, I'm deeply serious. You have given me hope, and for that, I owe you my eternal gratitude. Why, I believe it was you who said, 'Every pain ends with hope, and every madness ends with enlightenment', was it not? Such a truth has never been spoken by anyone!"

"Look, homey, it's just a TV show, all right? I'm real happy for you and all, but there's more to life than TV, know what I'm sayin'?"

Shadow was astonished.

"Walt…what are you talking about?"

"And stop callin' me Walt! The name's Manny, see?"

"No…I can't be hearing this! What kind of blasphemy is that!?"

"Hey, I ain't tryin' to blow your lid or nothin', but I think you need to see a shrink, homeboy!"

Shadow whispered to himself: "No…this isn't real! How could he betray me!? This is impossible!" Then, he fell to his knees, threw his hands up in the air and screamed:

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOO!"

Sonic & the others looked over at Shadow. After a few moments, the Ultimate Life form calmed down and stood up.

"By the way, would you happen to have any apple strudel or Swiss rolls?" asked Shadow.

"Naw, man!" replied Manny. "I ain't no catering service!"  
Shadow fell to his knees and threw his hands up in the air again.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOO!"

Manny turned to Sonic, who was standing nearby.

"Hey man, what's wrong with this dude?" asked Manny.

"Ah, don't worry about him!" said Sonic. "He's been on a bad trip since he was a kid!"

Shadow got to his knees and confronted Sonic.

"SHUT UP! Just shut up, Faker!" said Shadow.

"Hey, cool it, man!" said Sonic. "I just saved your bacon back there!"

"No! I've had enough of you! You took the one pastime that I ever enjoyed and crushed it! Crushed it like an unworthy mass of space rock! Did you ever stop to think about why I've hated you, Sonic? Because every time I try to accomplish something worthy, you always interfere with me! I don't even know how those other wretched creatures can consider themselves your friends, you arrogant fodder, but it makes me sick! Now, I'm going to…"

"Hey, look over there!" cried Sally.

A hover unit came in from the horizon and landed near everybody. Out stepped Hank Sorin & Sheldon Leib.

"All right," said Sorin, "tell Dr. Robotnik we've got…wait, where is he!?"

"Hey, everything's mellow, man!" replied Sonic. "We got your stars back, so if you were gonna fork over a ransom or somethin', don't worry!"

"Wait, who are you supposed to be, kid!?"

"Hank," said Leib, "I think these are the people who rescued our stars."

"They are!?" said Sorin. "Excellent! Excellent! I owe you a debt of gratitude! Name's Sorin, Hank Sorin, President & Founder of Sorin Entertainment! This is my partner, Sheldon Leib!"

"My name's Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog, leader of the Knothole Freedom Fighters! This here's my best buddy, Tails!"

"Excellent!" said Sorin. "Glad to meet ya kids!" Both duos shook hands with each other. Sonic introduced the rest of the gang, and everybody shook hands. Well…everybody except Shadow. The rest of Sonic's friends expressed their love for the TV show.

After the rounds of gratitude, Sonic said, "Well, it was neato, but I gotta get truckin'. Smell ya later!" Sonic was about to go when Sally grabbed his arm.

"Wait…did you perhaps have something to say?" asked Sally in a wily tone of voice.

"Me?" replied Sonic. "Nah! I've said everything I gotta say! I am up, over and gone!" He tried leaving again, but Sally's grip held firm.

"Come on, Sonic! Don't be shy!"

Sonic resigned and said to Johnny, "Yo, Johnny, I gotta confess…"

"What is it, Sonic?"

"…I was never a big fan of _Muscle Rangers_. In fact, I was angry at it because it got my show cancelled! See…I used to have this one cartoon, I dunno if ya caught it, but it was on Saturday mornings and a buncha people loved it, ya dig? I was also angry at my friends 'cause they kept raggin' on me about _Muscle Rangers_. Really, the only reason I saved you guys is because I cared about bein' a hero and doin' the right thing. Plus, I couldn't stand to see Robuttnik succeeding again, ya dig? I hope you ain't mad at me or nothin'."

"Sonic, it's all right; I'm not mad! In fact, I'm a big fan of that cartoon of yours and I was sad when they cancelled it. Maybe I can make it up to you…" Johnny turned away and called out: "Mr. Sorin! Mr. Leib!"  
The two executives came over.

"Yes, what is it, my boy?" asked Sorin.

"Hey, you think you could have Sonic & Tails guest star on the show, sir?"

Sonic & Tails swooned.

"Gee, I don't know, Johnny," replied Sorin. "We're not just looking for any ol' Mickey the Mope to be on our show…"

"Hank, this could be a big opportunity for us!" said Leib. "I've heard about Sonic & Tails before, and they're supposed to be big heroes in real life! Besides, think of the merchandising opportunities!"

Sorin thought it over for a few moments.

"Well…all right," replied Sorin. "I'll let these two wiseguys guest star in one episode!"

"Really!?" exclaimed Sonic & Tails.

"Far out!" said Sonic.

"Thank you, mister!" said Tails.

* * *

A few days later, Sonic & Tails were back in Knothole, watching _Super Changin' Muscle Rangers_ together. True to Sorin's word, the two got to guest star in an episode:

"Thanks, Sonic!" said Johnny Lee.

"Ain't no thang!" said TV Sonic. "Gotta juice!" He & TV Tails both ran off into the sunset.

Then, the real Sonic spoke up:

"You were right, Tails! This show's right up my alley! Heck, I think that was one of my favorite episodes, too!"

"Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it, Sonic!" said Tails. "I sure enjoyed piloting a real Vord, too! Wouldn't it be cool if your Uncle Chuck saw that?"

Sonic's cheery mood evaporated.

"Yeah…really cool," said Sonic. "Ah well, I'll rescue him someday. In the meantime, I'm just glad I have you!"

"Thanks, Sonic!" The two gave each other a friendly hug, renewing Sonic's mood.

After their hug was finished, Rotor walked in.

"Hey, how's it going?" asked Rotor.

"We're fine," said Tails.

"Yeah, copacetic!" said Sonic.

"OK then. Have a good time!" Rotor was about to walk away when Sonic spoke up:

"Rote, I've been thinkin'…"

"Yes, Sonic?"

"Those Vords really kicked butt! How come ya didn't build 'em earlier? I mean, if we used those more often, we could've crushed Robuttnik by now!"

"Uh…well, there's a problem with that…" said Rotor

"Uh-oh…"

"According to Serek's Law on Energy Consumption," said Tails, "fuel consumption increases depending on how many powered appendages a vehicle has and whether or not it has the capacity for metamorphosis…"

"All right, ALL RIGHT!" exclaimed Sonic. "So they sucked down a lot of gas! Big deal!"

"Not gasoline," said Rotor. "They were actually powered by a rare crystal alloy of tricobalt & handwavium."

"Well couldn't ya just use the flippin' Chaos Emeralds!?"

"I'm sorry, man, but we didn't have all the Chaos Emeralds on hand!"

Sonic threw his hands up in exasperation.

"Oh, brother! Ah…I guess I didn't need 'em anyways. I mean, I got this far without one of those giant robots, right?"

"Yeah," said Tails. "and we've already beaten Robotnik using simpler machines!"

"Right on!" said Sonic. "We're just too good!" And on that note, Sonic & Tails continued to enjoy their _Super Changin' Muscle Rangers_ marathon.


	7. Sonic Says

One day, Tails was in science class, and oddly enough, he was bored. No, he loved science class; it's just that the teacher seemed to be taking forever to partner up all the students for this new science project they were all working on.

Finally, after what seemed like days, Tails' ears were able to pick out something other than "wah wah wa-wah":

"…Tails, your partner will be Shadow," said the teacher. Suddenly, Tails froze up, and even when the teacher told everyone to go find their partners, he was still immobilized with fear. Then, Sonic nudged him.

"Tails, what's wrong, buddy?" asked Sonic.

"I don't want to be Shadow's partner!" replied Tails. "He looks like an evil person! A lot of people think so, too!"

"Now, wait just a minute!" said Sonic. "Ya can't always judge people by their looks or by what other folks say about them! After all, there could be another side to their story! So, if you're ever in a situation where you're meeting, partnered up with, or otherwise have to be in contact with a person who looks different from what you're used to, just relax! Take some time to get to know them! Who knows? Ya might find a new best friend or life partner! Well…assuming they're not tryin' to kill ya, of course."

"Tails, I'm waiting!" exclaimed Shadow, whose arms were crossed.

"OK, I gotta go, Sonic," said Tails, who got up from his seat.

"Good luck, buddy!" said Sonic.


End file.
